Brian Krashpad

[Robert]

Just wanted to say hang in there Brian!
What you are going through ain't no picnic. Canadian-Swedish mojo is being sent south.

[bcdon]

Here, here! And add some Texan bull-headedness too the mix too! You'll be back to normal in no time!

[Jimi75]

Here's two big hands full of German mojo for you Brian! Everything will turn out fine and you'll regain Super Krashpadito Power faster than you might think.

[Lev]

Sláinte Brian!! - Although traditionally used as 'Cheers' in Gaelic, it's literal translation is 'Good Health'.

[oldguy]

And best wishes and Missouri mojo sent as well, Brian!

[warren0728]

continued mojo from right here in sunny florida....

[piebaldpython]

Philly Mojo sent your way.

[sunvalleylaw]

Keep on Rockin' K-Man!

[Katastrophe]

More Texas mojo headed east to ya, brother... Keep up the fight, and you are still in our prayers for continued, rapid recovery, man.

I admire you for continuing to live life and play music through the pain. It's an inspiration.

[kidsmoke]

Hang in there BK.

[Tig]

Brian,
Stay strong when you can. Rest when you can't be strong. Keep fightin' the good fight.

The same goes to Brother Mudcat. You guys are good people who will make it through the difficult times, stronger and better than ever.

[Monkus]

Carnival mojo being sent from Trinidad and Tobago !! Hang in there dude !!!!

[markb]

All the best, Brian.

[Brian Krashpad]

Thanks kids! I'm doing fine. A little fatigued, but so far as I can tell I bottomed out over the weekend, between Saturday and Monday. Last few days I've been able to eat in sufficient amounts that I've felt much better. Actual treatments, including even just the post-treatment saline hydration IV's, are all done.

Now just have to rest up and heal up, and eventually await whatever type scan they'll give me to give me the all-clear.

I really appreciate your kind thoughts.

[Blaze]

Hey ! Brian ...Sorry i m late in the news ..Still don t know what disease is affecting you but I m wish you courage and the force to pass through..

Sending you some frenchie Mojo from Quebec Canada ..

Blaze ..

[Brian Krashpad]

Hey ! Brian ...Sorry i m late in the news ..Still don t know what disease is affecting you but I m wish you courage and the force to pass through..

Sending you some frenchie Mojo from Quebec Canada ..

Blaze ..

Merci beaucoups, mon ami!

Here's the short version (don't worry, I had this saved elsewhere):

At the end of summer 2010 my wife Kim noticed a lump on my neck. We went to the docs right away, but since I don't smoke the odds of it being cancerous were very small. I had a needle biopsy that also came back clear. I had a bunch of gigs, with rock bands and church-related, during October, so I scheduled the removal of the "benign cyst" for November.

On Nov. 17 they did the surgery and discovered a small cancerous tumor on my left tonsil, plus a couple spots on some adjoining lymph nodes. So they took out the tonsil (the "hard way," though the neck), the 2 spotty nodes, and another 18 nodes to be safe.

In mid-December, once I was healed up from the surgery, I started radiation 5 days a week (M-F, 35 total zaps) and one chemo infusion every Tuesday, 9 chemo's total. I finished radiation zaps Friday 2/4 and chemo Tuesday 2/8. That should get rid of anything too small to see or find. Now all I have to do is recover from the treatment! I should hopefully be able to "sing" once it's over, as up until a few weeks ago, once the surgery healed, I could. Not currently booking anything though. ;)

Everything is on schedule and prognosis is for full recovery. Will lose a salivary gland function forever, and it will be awhile before the chemo is out of my system, my taste buds heal, and I can taste things again. For a week or two things were pretty dicey and I was having a hard time even drinking Ensure liquid (a "nutrition drink"); solid food other than a milkshake or ice cream is long gone, too painful. That will come back eventually as my mouth and throat heal up. But at least I gots drugs, and plenty of sick days banked up at work. Have lost about 25 pounds, will probably lose a bit more.

Went to the chemo lab daily for one more week after the last actual chemo drug infusion, not for chemo per se but for a saline solution I.V. in order to avoid dehydration and the necessity of admission to the hospital, that ended this Tuesday (yesterday). Have mainly worked through the whole thing, although have been unable to work the last couple weeks unless in conjunction w/a co-worker's schedule to catch rides w/her, due to too many opioids (narcotic pain killers) in my system to safely drive a car.

Have a bosstastic "Hang 'Em High" scar like Clint Eatwood's in the movie of the same name! My mouth, throat and gums are still pretty torn up from the radiation. After a few weeks of healing up, I'll be given some sort of scan to confirm that the cancer is all gone. Right now I'm just staying doped up on pain meds, and trying eat, and to get some work done during "lucid intervals," haha!

[kiteman]

Texas sized mojo sent your way Brian. Glad you're doing well. :)

[tjcurtin1]

Yikes, Brian - I had missed the last installment of this story, and send you good thoughts. If anyone has the positive life mojo going for them, it's got to be you, man! Keep that good attitude rolling, and get well real soon!

[ted s]

Best wishes Brian.

[pictoratus]

Sounds like you're on the mend, Brian.

All the best. :)

[Ch0jin]

Jeez man I missed all that too. Hope you have a speedy recovery :)

[Brian Krashpad]

Thanks fellers. Here's a pic of coming home to Casa Krashpad after the last radiation therapy session, with the radiation mask that held me in place:

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/180296_10150096441403879_512618878_6158878_4696048 _n.jpg

Here's one of my techs and the zapper they blasted my neck with:

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/179812_10150096466353879_512618878_6159109_4124907 _n.jpg

[marnold]

Sounds like the "fun" someone else I know went through with cancer of the jaw. What do you do if your mouth no longer produces saliva? Or is it only on one side?

[Brian Krashpad]

Sounds like the "fun" someone else I know went through with cancer of the jaw. What do you do if your mouth no longer produces saliva? Or is it only on one side?

It's only on one side, also, some small part of the function of the destroyed one might come back. But basically it ain't gonna be right. At present it's pretty gross, all "ropey," for want of a better term. Too much mucosa content and not enough water content. I have some prescription stuff to help break it up, but it'll remain problematic methinks. Also, every night I have to put flouride in dental "trays" and soak my teeth in the flouride, uppers and lowers, for 5 minutes, in order to try to avoid cavities, and that'll continue forever. Because the radiation screws up the teeth and doing even small dental procedures is very problematic; something about having to do some sort of hyperbaric treatment or something, just to put in a filling. Ugh.

Beats a dirt nap though.

[bigoldron]

Hey Brian, glad to hear you doing as good as you are. I haven't been on the Fret in a couple of weeks had not heard your recent happenings. Just know that we're praying the cancer is gone and you will heal completely. MAJOR Southwest Georgia MOJO is coming at ya, Bro!

[FrankenFretter]

Hey Brian, sorry to get in on the mojo train a little late, but good thoughts and vibes sent your way from Oregon. Hopefully the worst is over now. We're all thinking about you, brother!

[Brian Krashpad]

Thanks Sean and Ronnie Beth!

It's been a very interesting adventure to say the least. Just glad the surgery and treatment is all behind me now. Wish that the side effects from the treatment went away immediately, but unfortunately that's not how it works, haha.

Thank goodness I have lots of pain meds, because I can sure tell when a dose is wearing off. Right now I'm on a transdermal pain patch that's supposed to be for every 3 days, but I'm changing it (on doctor's orders) every two days instead (fentanyl 75 mCg), plus 10 mg of oxycontin pills every 4 hours, plus lidocaine/maalox mouth rinse every 2 hours. I literally keep a running list so I can keep track of all the dosages and coordinate them for doing the least work in re-dosing, and avoiding missed dosages or overdosages.

Who'da thunk staying doped up would take this much work? :socool

http://www.akimlawyer.com/images/fentanyl.jpg

[vroomery]

I'll definitely keep you in my thoughts and prayers. I'm glad the worst is over now. It sure seems like you've been a beast through all of this.

As far as the pain meds...i would probably be tempted to just take more when it started hurting haha. I guess thats probably not a good idea though.

[Brian Krashpad]

I'll definitely keep you in my thoughts and prayers. I'm glad the worst is over now. It sure seems like you've been a beast through all of this.

As far as the pain meds...i would probably be tempted to just take more when it started hurting haha. I guess thats probably not a good idea though.

Thanks.

As best I can tell the docs are being very conservative with my dosages, though they have gone steadily up over the last 3-4 weeks. When I went into the chemo lab this last Monday for rehydration (saline water I.V.) and was having a bad day, I could tell my chemo nurse was kinda pissed about me still being in pain, because she basically got hold of the doc and lobbied for upping my dosages. I'd been doing 50 mCg pain patches, which was in turn up from the 25 I'd been doing previously, and by the end of it the doc had OK'd me combining them for 75 (by wearing 2 patches at once, one a 25 and one a 50).

Still there's the definite possibility of having a problem tapering off. I didn't have a problem doing so after the surgery , but then I was doing hydrocodone, not oxycodone like I am now.

Cross that bridge when I burn it down, I reckon. ;)

[wingsdad]

Brian, I've been following along, admiring your courage, resolve and your ever-present remarkable gift of humour, even in the face of such adversity that would bring most people, myself included, literally to their knees.

So while I'm late to pipe up, I nonetheless wish you the very, very best of outcomes ahead and a speedier than expected recovery.

mick
^^

[Brian Krashpad]

Brian, I've been following along, admiring your courage, resolve and your ever-present remarkable gift of humour, even in the face of such adversity that would bring most people, myself included, literally to their knees.

So while I'm late to pipe up, I nonetheless wish you the very, very best of outcomes ahead and a speedier than expected recovery.

mick
^^

Thanks Mick! Actually I am very fortunate and have a lot less to contend with than some people undergoing the same treatments. I'm younger and in better health than many such patients, plus I had plenty of weight so that a weight loss would not necessarily endanger my nutrition/health. Also I'm a non-smoker.

[duhvoodooman]

Prayin' that the rough water is past for you now, Krash, and you've got smooth sailing ahead! Your optimism and good humor throughout this ordeal has been inspirational. :AOK

[Tig]

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/180296_10150096441403879_512618878_6158878_4696048 _n.jpg


Dude, call Men in Black, Ghostbusters, or Chuck Norris...
There's a ghost alien tryin' to steal your mail!
:poke

[Robert]

Great to hear you are doing well. You are an inspiration.

[Katastrophe]

Cross that bridge when I burn it down... ;)

I think that might be one hell of a song lyric right there....

[Brian Krashpad]

Dude, call Men in Black, Ghostbusters, or Chuck Norris...
There's a ghost alien tryin' to steal your mail!
:poke

Haha, that made me laugh!

Every time I see that pic though, all I can see is what a wreck my front yard has become in the past few months.

Here's a better pic, albeit a stock shot, showing what the masks look like up close:

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/167841_10150096177958879_512618878_6154945_7013741 _n.jpg

In the pic previously posted, of the zapper machine, you can see the black plastic headrest piece that the mask clamps onto. It holds your head in place very exactly so the dose goes just where it needs to go. I now have 2 very distinct "stripes" going down my face which very clearly delineate where the entry and exit radiation fields were. I'm told that these stripes will fade over time, which would be nice.

:D

[Brian Krashpad]

I think that might be one hell of a song lyric right there....

Haha, yeah I'll have to work it into my as-yet unwritten post-cancer masterpiece, "Pain In the Neck."

[tjcurtin1]

Haha, yeah I'll have to work it into my as-yet unwritten post-cancer masterpiece, "Pain In the Neck."

:rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao: Brian, I can't believe that here you are in the midst of this cracking US up.... ! God Bless you, man - keep on keeping on!

[sumitomo]

Brian glad your doing good,prayers to ya brother and thanks also for the laugh.I'll bet it would be fun to hitchhike with that mask,just saying! Sumi:D

[Brian Krashpad]

:rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao: Brian, I can't believe that here you are in the midst of this cracking US up.... ! God Bless you, man - keep on keeping on!

Will do! I really am going to write a song called "Pain In the Neck" about all this. It's also going to have a second double entendre-- "lump in my throat," haha.

That's about all I got so far though.

[kiteman]

You crack me up Brian. :cool:

Laughter is the best medicine. I ought to name one of my songs, "My Acky Breaky Back." :)

[guitarhack]

More mojo coming from the hills of Kentucky! Best wishes!

[Brian Krashpad]

So, back from the surgeon/ENT. Wants me to "consider" a feeding tube if intake doesn't get better in next couple weeks.

I told him my chemo doc was already of the opinion that I would NOT need one. His response was "Well, I'm a surgeon, and from my perspective a feeding tube is really not that big a deal."

Uh, yeah, that's because: 1) People PAY YOU to put holes in people; and 2) The feeding tube hole is going in ME, not YOU.

No fecking way am I getting a feeding tube. Immediately went back to the office and downed an Ensure. Have decided I'm going to start doing at least 5 Ensures a day (1750 calories) until I can start eating again.

It pisses me off when I've already told the guy months ago that I do not want a feeding tube, and then he's so fecking blase' about me getting one this late in the game. Not gonna happen.

Read my lips: no fecking feeding tube.

:mad:

[Tig]

I gotsta' agree with you, Brian. I had plenty of patients with PEG tubes and I swore you'll never see me with one.
Same with hemodialysis and the shunt inside the arm (a synthetic tube in the arm that they jam huge needles, 1 for in, 1 for out, to filter your blood a few times per week)... No eff'in way!

[Robert]

I'd probably feel the same about the feeding tube! NO way!

[Brian Krashpad]

I'd probably feel the same about the feeding tube! NO way!

Honestly, I wanted to punch the guy. Luckily for both of us, as it so happened Mrs. K was there (because she won't let me drive doped up, and I'm doped up pretty much 24/7 right now). If he wanted to motivate me to eat, he sure as hell just did it.

[piebaldpython]

Yeah........no feeding tube unless you absolutely need one. And plus, with the summer coming, you want to physically LOOK your best...you want to be ripped and shredded.....and this diet you are on seems to be working wonders. lol That and your neck scar and no telling how many pretty young things will want to drape themselves over you. lol Just kiddin' man.

In 2000 I had a huge kidney stone. Wasn't bothering me any but at some point all h-ll would eventually break loose. Went to one doc and he said......surgery to remove the stone and then you'll have a tube sticking out of your back for 7-10 days. WHAT??
Got myself a second opinion, and he said lets BLAST the thing, see how that works and if not, then MAYBE surgery and a tube. I got the sucker blasted.

IMHO, a tube is just another thing that can cause an infection where it goes into/comes out of you. Keep on keepin' on Krash!!

[Katastrophe]

So, back from the surgeon/ENT. Wants me to "consider" a feeding tube if intake doesn't get better in next couple weeks.

I told him my chemo doc was already of the opinion that I would NOT need one. His response was "Well, I'm a surgeon, and from my perspective a feeding tube is really not that big a deal."

Uh, yeah, that's because: 1) People PAY YOU to put holes in people; and 2) The feeding tube hole is going in ME, not YOU.

No fecking way am I getting a feeding tube.
:mad:

That ENT/surgeon is an ***. Get another one. Sounds to me like he was trying to earn next month's greens fees at the country club, or a payment on the Lexus.

Give 'em hell, Brian!

[NWBasser]

Brian, best wishes from Washington for a quick recovery.

I'm very happy about the positive prognosis for complete recovery.

[street music]

Brian, best wishes to you man! I have a friend who is 38 that is going through a hard time right now too. They found a baseball size tumor in his colon and he is slowly recovering. I have never heard of so much cancer and I have my own ideas of where it is all coming from . So keep up the recovery mood and get back to normal soon.

[helliott]

Sorry to hear of your trials, Brian. You seem to have a great attitude that is bound to help get you through this. All the best, and strong Canadian mojo sent your way.

[Brian Krashpad]

Thanks guys. I'm thinking that last weekend was bottoming out, pain-wise, whereas hopefully this weekend may be turning the corner after a fairly lousy, albeit stable, week. I've been staying doped up pretty much 24/7: 75 mcg/hour fentanyl 3-day pain patch changed out every 48 hours, w/10 mg of oxycontin every 4 hours, and 1 tsp of lidocaine rinse ("magic mouthwash") every 2 hours.

Have had to keep a chart to keep track of where all my dosages are, haha. This afternoon, however, I went 6 and a half hours between lidocaine rinses, so I'm hoping that maybe FINALLY my dang mouth is healing up.

SLOWLY. :AOK

OK, time for my Hillbilly Heroin! :dude

[Jipes]

Sorry Brian I completely missed that whole story. My thoughts are with you and I keep my fingers crossed for your quick and entire recovery

[MAXIFUNK]

STAY POSITIVE, STAY STRONG, GET WELL, AND KICK THAT CA IN A$$!!!!
I am a parent of child who is a survivor of 3 brain tumors and 1 spinal tumor modern medicine is amazing! My prayers go out you man.

[Brian Krashpad]

Thanks guys. Maxi, prayers back! I can't begin to imagine what having a child with such concerns would be like.

[NWBasser]

I was thinking it would be really cool to put that mask on and play Iron Man!

[Tig]

I was thinking it would be really cool to put that mask on and play Iron Man!

Brian may have to change the lyrics...

http://supak.com/simpsons/Radioactive_Man_Number_One_v_1024.jpg